Reykjavik’s Annual Gay Pride Event

As with much of Scandinavia, Iceland is a rather liberal and accommodating country. Amongst most Icelanders, the subject of homosexuality is a rather neutral one.  So, it was natural when 16 years ago, a small group of people started Iceland’s first gay pride event.

This first Pride event was a small event that hosted about 1,500 spectators. Fast forward to 2014, the Reykjavik Gay Pride event is celebrating its 16^th year and this annual showcase now attracts visitors, participants, and supporters exceeding 100,000 from all over the world! This might be the biggest little celebration in the world.

This 6-day long celebration is designed to not only acknowledge, support and encourage the LGBT community, but also take pride in the fact that Iceland supports the rights of individuals to express their individuality, sexuality, and personality without repercussion.

The pride events begin with events like the History Walk, Art and Photo Exhibits, and Theatre early in the week. Thursday hosts the official opening ceremony of the gay pride celebration at 9pm and is followed by events like the big events like Pride Parade, Queer Cruise, Queer dance, Choirs, Concerts and much more during the weekend.

If you are planning to attend a future Reykjavik Gay Pride event, we hope you’ll consider staying at Berjaya Hotels.  We are Iceland’s premiere hotel chain with 9 locations around the country and two locations in Reykjavik: Berjaya Reykjavik Natura Hotel and Berjaya Reykjavik Marina Hotel. Cheers!